Tera Howell and The Weasley Twins year 1
by BrokenAngel363
Summary: Tera Howell is a young girl who got her letter from Hogwarts, lets follow her life through school. She's there at the same time as Harry but gets into her own mischief. She may seem like a sweet little girl but don't let that fool you. Read&Review Please!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I do not Own Harry Potter, I do however own this story and the OC's that show up in it. There will be exerpts from the books in this series so please don't hound dog me about it. Tera starts school there same year as Harry and goes to school with him. I basically made her to fill the role of one of those nameless characters from the books. I hope you enjoy this story, I'm open to critisism just don't get too mean about it please. Thank you and I hope you enjoy.**

**Author's Note2: I found someone to do a pic of Tera. Its kinda anime style but is quite adorable. Here's the link just get rid of the spaces.. http:/ demoniumangel. deviantart. com /#/d4beier**

**Chapter One**

**Tera Gets Her Letter**

Tera Howell remembered when she got her letter from Hogwarts. It was the end of July when the Hogwarts owl showed up and dropped the letter in her lap. Her mother had smiled at her from the garden and told her to come out let her read the things they would need to pick up before school started.

"Alright mum." Said Tera coming out and handing her mother the letter to read. Her mother smiled at her daughter and read the list of things they'd need to pick up.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL**

**_of _WITCH CRAFT _and _WIZARDRY**

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_

by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot

_Magical Theory_ by Adalbert Waffling

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

by Phyllida Spore

_Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

by Newt Scamander

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Tera's mother smiled. "Well you know where we can get all these things don't you baby girl?"

"Diagon Alley!" Tera said in her happy voice, jumping up and down. She loved going there and getting to see all the neat new things that come out. She also loved going to a near by Muggle book store and picking up anything that caught her interest. "Can I get a few books to take with me to Hogwarts mum? I've read all the ones in the house already!" she said in her small and pleading voice, her eyes all big, green and excited.

"Alright but not a lot, okay Tera? I don't want to transfer too much into Muggle money just for you to have some new reading material." She said with a laugh, remember a time that her daughter had somehow talked her into buy 10 new books and cost her well over 100 pounds which was quite a bit of Muggle money.

"Alright mum!" Tera said with a bright smile, bouncing happily in her spot. "So when are we going to get them?" she asked with a bright voice.

"Well we could go and get them now if you like baby girl. Go and get our cloaks and we'll head on out. You can side apparate with me if you like." said her mother Persephone.

"Alright mum! Just give me a minute to tell nana we're leaving for a bit and I'll get right out!" said Tera as she ran towards their home and inside. "Nana! Mum and I are going to go get my things for school! We'll back back by dark!"

"Alright dearie. You and your mother have a safe trip now and try not to get run over by any of the bigger children." said her grandmother from the sitting room, she was sitting there and reading a book while a pair of be-spelled crochet hooks were making what looked like the start of a scarf.

"Nana will you stop worrying about that. Just because I'm smaller then some kids doesn't mean I'll get ran over by them." Tera said with a small laugh, giving her grandmother a kiss on the cheek before dashing outside with her and her mother's cloaks. "Here you are mum, I grabbed your favorite one!" she said with a happy smile, holding out her mother's midnight blue cloak then donning her own of a deep onyx.

"Alright off we go then love. Remember to hold tight to my arm until I tell you to let go okay?" her mother said to make sure she understood.

"Of course mother. Can we go now please? I wanna see if I can meet any of the other kids that I'll be going to school with! Do you think the Potter boy will be starting up school at Hogwarts this year? He is about my age isn't he mother?" asked Tera, grabbing onto her mother's outstretched hand and feeling that gut retching pull behind her belly button before feeling her feet touch back down, now just outside the entrance to Diagon Alley.

"Yes dear I do think he'll be starting up this year, he's just turned eleven... well today actually." said Persephone who had thought back to realize that today was in fact Harry Potter's eleventh birthday.

"Alright off we go into Diagon Alley!" her mother said with a light smile, tapping the third brick from the left above the trash bin and the wall jumped to life, moving out of the way until there was a great stone archway for them to walk through. "Now then were to first..." her mother said with a small hum then laughed as Tera ran straight to Flourish and Blotts. "I guess we get books first then." she said with a sigh as she followed her daughter inside.

Tera grabbed the first book that caught her eye and laughed lightly at the title _Marguerite Thimbleside's Guide to Love in a Bottle. _"Mum look at this one! I swear people will write anything if they think it could get them published." Tera said with a small snort then put the book back on its shelf, grabbing the books she'd need and stacking them in her arms until she could hardly see.

"Let me take a few of those dearie, can't have you stomping around blind now can we. People need their toes you know." Persephone said to her daughter with a light laugh, her stormy blue-gray eyes twinkling with laughter. "Now then lets pay for these and go get the things you'll need from the apothecary, and then we'll go and gets your robes fitted okay sweetheart?"

"Alright mum but how are we going to carry this all and go get my other books I asked for?" Tera asked, hoping she wouldn't have to lug all of it around.

"A simple shrinking spell you silly thing you. We shrink it all down to fit in your cloak pocket then bring it back to size when we get home." her mother said as though it was simple as simple could be. She pulled out the necessary amount, handed it to the shop owner then headed outside, shrinking all the books and placing them in one of Tera's pockets. "To the apothecary we go." she said in a cheery voice, dashing about and grabbing all the supplies while Tera looked at all the people walking by outside. Smiling at a bushy haired young girl who looked completely fascinated by everything around her, and who smile back before running to Flourish and Blotts, dragging what looked like her Muggle parents behind her.

"I wonder how many of them I'll be in school with..?" she said lightly to herself, looking up when her mother had finished buying the supplies for potions class. "So now robes and then wand I'm guessing?" asked Tera lightly.

"Actually since its right next door lets get your wand firsts, that alright with you baby girl?" her mother asked while shrinking and wrapping up the ingredients.

"Sounds like a plan to me mum. What kind of wand do you think I'll get?" Tera asked, her green eyes dancing with curiosity.

"Only the wands know which one you'll get. Its the wand that picks the wizard you know." she said with a smile, panting her own wand that was hidden in her cloak. "Now then lets go visit Ollivanders shall we?" she said while heading out of the Apothecary and walking into Ollivanders with her daughter following close behind. "Hello? Mister Ollivander?"

After a few minutes of waiting (restless waiting on Tera's part), Ollivander popped out of one of the back rooms and walked up to the pair with a bright smile, giving Persephone a hug. "Ah Miss Howell! How nice it is too see you again! I remember when you came in here to get your wand. Thirteen and one-quarter inch Holly with a Phoenix feather core if I'm not mistaken!" he said, the smile on his face reminiscent of that day.

"Yes, fun day indeed, you got the ends of your hair singed when my wand picked me." Persephone said with a chuckle. She then gestured to her daughter. "Tera is here to get her wand, she's starting up at Hogwarts this coming year."

"Ah but of course, how do you do young Miss Howell. Now let us see what I have hiding in the store here for you. Hold out your wand arm so we can get your measurement. That's a good girl." He measured Tera from shoulder to finger, the wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and around her head. "Hmmm right... okay let me see... ah I think I know..." he wander off to the wall to the right and went back halfway through the shop, grabbing one from one of the lower shelves then came back to the front. "Here give this one a try Ms. Howell. Maple with unicorn hair, ten and a half inches.."

Tera grabbed the wand but no sooner had she tried to give it a wave, Mr. Ollivander snatched it away and started mumbling to himself.

"No no no... hmm maybe...?" he headed into the back and climbed a ladder, pulling down a box and blowing the dust off it, he brought it to Tera and handed it over. "Apple and phoenix feather core, twelve and three-quarter inches."

As soon as Tera touched the wand she felt a comforting warmth spread over her, like a piece of her that had been missing was finally found. "Oh this one! It's perfect!" she said enthusiastically.

"Yes it seems that this one likes you." Ollivander said with a small chuckle, ringing them up. "That will be 7 gold Galleons for the wand please." he said wrapping the wand and leading them to the entrance. "Thank you for coming! Take good care of your wand Ms. Howell, don't want to see you coming in for a replacement anytime soon." he said while waving her and her mother out.

They made their way over to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, passing by a young boy with messy black hair and vivid green eyes hidden behind glasses and a man who towered over all those around him. She over heard the boy asking about Quidditch and figured he must have been raised by Muggles. She walked into the shop and saw a young boy with blindingly blonde hair getting his robes finished up.

Madam Malkin came up and pulled her up onto a stool. "Hogwarts ,dear?" she asked with a small smile, pulling a robe on over her head and pinning it here and there to her size. "That boy over there is off to Hogwarts too. We're just finishing up with him. Have had a lot of your classmates in here today." Madam Malkin said with a smile. She headed in the back to get something and the blonde haired boy turned and talked to her.

"Hello, you off to Hogwarts too?" asked the boy.

"Yes I am." said Tera with a small smile.

"Can you believe that stupid rule they have about first years not being allowed broomsticks. My father will buy me one for sure regardless." the boy said in an arrogant tone.

"And you'll end up getting it confiscated if you bring it with you." Tera said while shaking her head.

"Oh what do you know. I'm sure I wouldn't get it taken. So anyways, what house do you think you'll be sorted into? I'm a sure thing for Slytherin. How about you?" asked the boy with a kind of cocky air about him.

"I dunno. My family is a mix of houses. So I have no clue which one I'd be put in." Tera said with a shrug, starting to get annoyed by this arrogant boy.

"Well here's hoping you aren't put in Hufflepuff. Bunch of useless pansies if you ask me." he said with a snort.

"Oi! My gran was a Hufflepuff and she was a top MediWitch! So shut your trap. No house is better then another." Tera said with a growl, her eyes flashing with anger and her fists clenched. "Thanks Madam Malkin for the robes. Here's the money." Tera said handing over the Galleon's required and stomping out of the shop with her mother behind. "Oh that boy is so infuriating!"

"What boy dear?" asked her mother as she followed her annoyed daughter.

"That insufferable git from Madam Malkin's shop. He said a bunch of codswallop about Hufflepuff, claiming they're just a bunch of useless pansies!" she said, throwing her hand up in the air in annoyance.

"Well dear there are lots of people with narrow minded points of view." said Persephone with a shrug. "Now then lets get home. You still have to get Thor used to the idea that he's leaving the house to be your mail owl. And you have to tell Lady she'll be going with you too."

"Thor will be fine because he loves new things. Lady on the other hand... she's an old cat and I have not clue how she'll take to being uprooted.." Tera commented as they made their way out of Diagon Alley and headed over to a Muggle Bookstore. When they got there Tera picked up 5 books that all looked interesting. "Ooh can I get these mum? You said I could get some reading books to take with me."

"Alright love. And I'll try to send you some new reading material when you run out okay? But don't expect something every time." Persephone said to Tera, handing the Muggle cashier the money for the books then headed out, taking their purchases with them. They walked to a safe spot and then apparated home.

Tera couldn't wait until school would start. "Just 4 more weeks... I can't wait for September 1st!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

** Catching the Train**

She couldn't believe it! Today was the day that she'd be heading to Hogwarts. Tera and her mother had just arrived at Kings Cross Station and she was pushing along her cart which had a cat carrier with a elderly black cat and an owl cage with a large golden colored screech owl, the name Thor branded on the cage. Her trunk which was a very pretty combination of royal blue and black was embossed with the silver letters T.H. "Hurry up mum! The train leaves in less then ten minutes!" said Tera who was pushing her cart along towards Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

" Slow down dear before the Muggles start to think things around here are odd." said her mother with a small laugh, leading her along to the barrier that would lead them to platform nine and three-quarters. Passing by a large group of gingers, with 4 boys, all of whom were pushing carts of their own and by the looks of them heading the same way as her, the oldest one wearing a prefects badge and getting teased by one of the twins, their younger brother just smirking and the little girl with them sniffling lightly. Tera hurried along and they made it to the barrier that would lead her to the platform.

"I think I can take it from here mum. Lots of love to you and nana. Give her and Callum a hug for me when you get home will you? I'll make sure to write and tell you which house I get into." she said while hugging her mother and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm off then!" she said with a bright smile, pushing her cart up to speed and passing through wall between platforms nine and ten, smiling very big when she came out the other side and was staring at the Hogwarts Express.

She moved her cart along and tried not to run into other students, giving a wide birth to a young boy of about 13 with dreadlocks whom had a box that had something with long hairy legs inside. With a small shudder she trudged along and finally stopped next to one of the doors, loading most of her things on, then grunting as she tried to get her trunk to move, it was a lot harder without her mother's help. She could barely get it to move at all.

"Need some help there?" came a voice with a chuckle behind her. Tera turned around and saw the twins from the group of red-heads she had seen earlier, they were looking at her with a bit of amusement.

Tera blushed and nodded meekly. "Yes please... its a bit too heavy for me..." she said in a small voice while looking down at her feet, her reddish-blonde hair falling around her face like a veil to hide her burning cheeks.

"Not a problem." said one of the two, grabbing one of the handles. "Oi, George, wanna give me a hand with this?" he said to his twin when he too grunted, realizing that the trunk was indeed quite heavy. His twin gave a smile and nodded going to the other handle and with a bit of effort they got the trunk into the train. "There you go, all loaded up now. Oh I'm Fred Weasley, and this is my twin brother George." said Fred with a smile at the small girl standing in front of them. "And you are?"

Tera's blush burned a bit brighter and she just barely managed to talk without squeaking from embarrassment. "M-my name is Tera, Tera Howell..." she said shyly, chancing a glance up at the twins who were smiling kindly at her then looking back down quickly, she wasn't quite used to talking to boys, let alone them doing anything nice for her. The only boy she had ever dealt with was her younger brother so she had no idea what to say.

She thanked them for their help and forced herself to look up at them and smile, the blush still dusted lightly across her nose and making the light freckles there a tiny bit more prominent. She really needed to stop being so shy if she was going to be off to her new school today.

The twins smiled back at her then headed off to find their younger brother, smiling and glancing back at her as she turned to get on the train, whispering to each other about how she was an adorable little thing.

Tera walked along in the train and finally found a compartment that wasn't full, she opened the door and looked at the bushy haired girl that was sitting inside, recognizing her from Diagon Alley, the girl with the Muggle parents. "Hello... is this compartment full?" she asked lightly, hoping she wouldn't have to leave and keep searching.

"Nope. I'm the only one in here at the moment. You can join me if you like." The girl said with a smile. "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." the girl said with a smile, holding out her hand to shake.

Tera took her hand with a smile of her own after putting her cat carrier down on the seat and her owl cage up in the luggage rack. "I'm Tera Howell, nice to meet you. I think I saw you in Diagon Alley a little over a month ago. You're Muggle-born right?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah that I am. This is all so wonderful, I always felt I was a bit different from the rest of the kids at my school. Now I know why! I'm a witch." Hermione said with a smile. "What about you? Are you a Muggle-born?" Hermione asked curiously.

"No. I'm a pure-blood. My mom works at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries." Tera said with a small smile.

"What about your dad?" asked Hermione with a bit of wonder at what kind of fantastic job he could have.

"I prefer not to talk about him." said Tera in a very cold voice, her green eyes turning as cold and angry as the dark green icy waters that surround Azkaban the Wizarding prison.

Hermione shuddered at the look in her eyes and decided to change the subject and quickly. "So what do you think of our books we had to buy for school? I have already been through them twice now." she said while holding her copy of _Hogwarts a History_ close.

"Ah yeah I've skimmed them a bit." Tera said coming out of her foul mood. She smiled lightly at her new friend. "With the way your holding that book and the fact you've read all the books twice already I'd think your a shoo in to be a Ravenclaw. _'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.'_after all."said, repeating the words her mother had told her was held in the heart of most all members of Ravenclaw.

Hermione blushed lightly and smiled, glad to have already made at least one friend at her new school. They both looked up when a boy their age opened the door and was gasping for breath.

"Have you seen a... a toad by chance?" he asked while trying to catch his breath. Both girls shook their heads. "Darn..." said the boy who turned to continue his search. Hermione got up to help him look while Tera stayed behind to keep an eye on her owl and cat, she also pulled out one of her Muggle stories and started reading, putting it down long enough to buy a few things from the sweets trolley when it went by.

About half an hour before they were expected to arrive in Hogsmeade Tera let out a small giggle as she saw the twins from earlier that day running past her compartment with something shiny in one of their hands, followed closely by a boy who looked to be their older brother. He was running after them screaming something about returning his badge immediately or he would give them detention.

As they drew closer and closer to Hogsmeade, Tera put her book away and changed into her school robes, Hermione showing up a moment or two later with a big smile stretched across her face.

"You'll never guess who I just met!" said Hermione in a voice that suggested that she was bursting to tell somebody. "Harry Potter! He's here on the train just four compartments down!" she said pointing in the general direction he was located.

"Really? Whats he like then? Does he really have the scar or is that just some exaggeration?" Tera asked out of curiosity. It's not everyday you talk to someone who has truly met Harry Potter. He had basically dropped off the wizarding radar for the past ten years.

"Yes he actually has the scar. He seems nice enough, kinda quiet and I guess you could say a bit overwhelmed by it all. He seems rather new to things like I am. But he seems to have already made at least one friend thus far. Oh what was that boys name? Robert..? Roger...? Ron...? Yeah Ron! Ron uhm... Weasley I think it was... yeah that was his name." said Hermione after a few minutes of having her forehead scrunched in thought.

"Weasley you say? I think his two older brother's Fred and George helped me get my trunk on the train back at platform nine and three-quarters. They were ever so nice.." said Tera with a light blush dusting her nose.

"Well that was nice of them. We best be getting our things together. I estimate we'll be arriving any minute now." Hermione said while gathering up her books and other things.

Tera nodded and put her book away in her bag. She then smiled down at her black cat, Lady, who was curled up at her side. "Come on Lady, time to get back in your carrier. Last time for a long time, I promise." said Tera while she moved the old cat into her carrier and gave her ear a loving little scratch. She then picked up her bag, tossing it over her shoulder and grabbing the cat carrier with one hand and Thor's owl cage with her other. "Well I'm ready to go." she said with a smile and nod to Hermione.

A voice echoed through the train making an announcement: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Tera sighed and set the cat carrier and owl cage back down along with her bag. "Looks like I'll be seeing you two after I've been sorted... see you soon." she said as she patted the tops of their containers affectionately. She then joined the crowd thronging the corridor, bumping into one of the twins accidentally and stuttering out a quiet apology.

The train slowed soon and finally came to a stop, people pushing and shoving their way towards the door and onto a tiny platform. A lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and a loud voice boomed: "Firs' years Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

Hermione popped up next to her and pointed at a skinny young lad with glasses and messy black hair. "That him, that's Harry Potter!" she said with a big smile.

Tera nodded and looked curiously at the boy, a small smile stretching across her face. "He looks just like his father." she mumbled to herself with a small nod. "Except for the eyes, he's got his mother's eyes."

"How do you know that?" asked Hermione in a surprised voice.

"My mother went to school with Harry's parents. Actually Harry is technically my cousin like... three times removed. Or something like that anyways." said Tera with a shrug.

"C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!" bellowed the large hairy man with the lantern. Tera thought she had heard Harry call the man Hagrid so she figured that must be his name.

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep and narrow path. The boy who had lost his toad back on the train, sniffled a few times along the way.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' around this bend here." said Hagrid, his voice traveling back to them on the slight breeze.

There was a loud chorus of "Ooooh!" from many of the students. The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Looking out across the lake you could see a vast castle, its many windows sparking in the starry sky.

"No more'n four to a boat." said Hagrid as he himself sat down and took up a whole boat to himself alone.

The first years all scrambled to get into a boat with people they already knew. Hermione got pushed along and ended up in a boat with the round-faced boy missing his toad, Harry and the twin's younger brother Ron. Tera looked around and scowled, just her luck, the only boat left was with that arrogant boy from Madam Malkin's and two large brutes who greatly resembled gorillas in wizarding robes. Tera sighed and got into the boat, trying her best not to be noticed.

The blindingly bright blonde haired boy turned when he felt the boat move and smirked. "Oh its you again. Didn't catch your name back at Madam Malkin's. I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy, this is Crabbe and Goyle." he said, indicating each of the gorilla's in turn. "And you are?"

"My name is Tera Howell." she said, trying in vain to ignore his arrogant attitude.

"Ah yes, Howell. I've heard that name before... that means your one of us then." he said with an approving nod, looking her up and down with an interested and appraising eye. Crabbe and Goyle nodded along with what Malfoy said, sneering over at her.

"One of you?" she asked lightly, tilting her head in slight confusion.

"Yes, one of us. A pure-blood! Not one of those lowly mud-blood scum that have been infesting our world." said Malfoy in a matter of fact sort of way.

Tera turned her icy cold glare on him, her green eyes nearly glowing with a deep and powerful loathing. "Don't you EVER use that word around me, you arrogant, pompous, ferret faced git!" she growled, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Her right hand itching to grab her wand and blast his arrogant pretty boy face off.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, looking around to make sure everyone was in a boat. "Right then – FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the mirror like surface of the lake.

Malfoy looked at the little girl in front of him, his mouth hanging open in shock for a full minute before he started to shake with fury. "How... How dare you! How dare you talk down at me! Me, whose family is one of the most powerful in all of Europe! You will rue the day you dared to call me that ridiculous name!" said Malfoy in a cold, fury filled voice.

"Ooh I'm shaking in me knickers." said Tera with a sneer worthy of Draco himself. "I don't fear you Malfoy. Your nothing without those gorilla like lackies of yours. Your all bark and no bite, so just shut your trap! _Silencio."_she said and with a wave of her wand she cast a silencing charm on Malfoy, whose face was turning red with his frustration.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first of the boats reached the cliffs.

Tera bent her head and chuckled lightly to herself when Goyle didn't duck low enough and got conked on the head by the cliff, falling to the side and nearly knocking Malfoy out of the boat. The boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

Once Hagrid who had found the round-faced boy, Neville's, toad, handed him over they all clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shade of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front doors.

"Everyone here? You there, still got your toad?" called Hagrid, he then raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**The Sorting**

The doors swung open immediately and there stood a tall black haired witch in emerald green robes, her facial features forming a stern mask, this was definitely a witch you did not want to cross.

"The firs' years Professor McGonagall." said Hagrid.

"Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here." said the stern looking with, now known to Professor McGonagall. She opened the doors wide and there was a collective gasp of awe from the students.

The entrance hall was huge, so huge you could fit a Muggle house in it and still have room to move about. The walls were lit with flaming torches that flickered and cast shadows that dance across the walls. The ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase right in front of them led to the upper floors of the castle.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. They could hear the buzz of hundreds of voices from the large doorway to their right – the rest of the school seemed to have already arrived – but Professor McGonagall showed the group of first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing closer together than they would have usually done, looking around nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room." she said while looking at the mass of students in front of her, the next generation of magic.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points,while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Her eyes lingering for a moment of the Neville's cloak which was fastened under his left ear, the twin's younger brother who's nose had a smudge of dirt on it. Tera moved her bangs out of her eyes and shifted her gaze to a picture on the wall out of nervousness.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." She left the chamber and then at once everyone started talking in hushed voices.

Tera looked over at Malfoy, who was three people away from her and sighed, figuring it was time to let him talk again. She pulled her wand out of her cloak and waved it at him, lifting her charm from him and watching his expression when he realized he could talk again. Happiness followed by a dark glare sent her way. She just smirked and wiggled her fingers at him in a taunting and flirty way, watching his face heat up at bit with a smirk. She then looking over at Harry and his friend Ron, who both looked a bit nervous, Ron even had a greenish hue that made him look like an out of place Christmas decoration because of his bright red hair.

Tera nearly fell when there was a scream from behind her, when she turned to see what was going on she let out a small gasp. About twenty ghosts had just streamed though the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years who were staring at them in awe. Tera shivered lightly when one's foot passed through her left shoulder. Two of the ghost's seemed to be arguing.

What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the group of shocked youngsters around them.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" Said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now." said a sharp and stern voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away though the opposite wall. "Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Tera rushed to get in line and smiled when she ended up right behind Hermione, a girl with bright red hair and a round face ended up behind her, as they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Tera looked around her at the older students, noticing the Weasley twins talking to a boy with dreadlocks and laughing, they were sitting over at what looked like the Gryffindor table. They turned to watch the first years walk in and spotted her, waving and giving her reassuring smiles. She waved back and smiled shyly, her nerves starting to catch up with her as a small blush spread onto her cheeks.

She looked up and stared in awe at the ceiling which was a reflection the sky outside. It was fantastic. "Oh I wish my ceiling could look like that..." she said with a sigh.

She smiled as Hermione whispered to her, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History._"

Tera looked back down from the ceiling as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of them. Onto of the stool she placed a beaten and patched up old pointed wizard's hat. The hat suddenly twitched, a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing:

_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat then me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindor apart;_

_You might belong to Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became still again.

Tera laughed lightly when she overheard Ron talking about how Fred had went on about them having the wrestle trolls to get in.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of the line, she put the hat on, which fell down past her eyes, and sat down. There was a moments pause –

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table to the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. The Fat Friar waving merrily at the newest member of his old house.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; the Weasley twins catcalling, which resulted in Tera frowning and glaring at the back of Lavender's head as she smiled coyly at the twins.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin and they were quite an unhappy looking lot of people.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sometimes the hat would shout out the student's new house immediately, other times it would take a while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," sat on the stool for a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

"Good luck 'Mione." said Tera, giving her friend a quick hug.

Hermione smiled and almost ran to the stool, jamming the hat onto her head eagerly.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.

Hermione waved to Tera as she went off to join her new house with a small bounce in her step.

After Goyle got sorted into Slytherin house Tera started to get a bit nervous. Her turn was coming up soon.

"Howell, Tera!" said Professor McGonagall, looking over her list at Tera as she slowly made her up to the stool, Malfoy glaring at her back and the Weasley twins sitting up a bit more to see where this little girl was going to be placed. As she put the hat on her head and everything disappeared she heard a voice start talking in her ear.

"Hmmm," said the voice. "Difficult. Quite difficult indeed. Loyalty to those you care about, and a bit of a devious streak. Quite a sharp wit, and a love of reading. Where to put you... where to put you?" mumbled the hat.

Tera nibbled on her lower lip and scrunched her brow, thinking that anywhere would be fine except Slytherin. She would cry if she ended up in Slytherin.

"Ah something against Slytherin, eh? I can understand why from what I see in your head. Alright then, I've made my choice. HUFFLEPUFF!" said the sorting hat.

Tera pulled the hat off and headed over to the Hufflepuff table who was cheering for their new member. She glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw Hermione clapping for her with a smile. The twins were both looking at her with a small bit of disappointment, though they clapped too. Looks like they were hoping she'd be a Gryffindor.

The Sorting continued, and then the time came when everyone's eye were glued to the front.

"Potter, Harry!"

"What? Did she say Potter?"

" The_ Harry Potter_?"

As Harry made his way to the front chatter picked up as everyone watched as the most famous eleven year old in all of Great Britain sat down and pulled the hat over his eyes. Two long and silent minutes passed in which Harry looked like he was arguing with the hat before it finally shouted out "GRYFFINDOR!"

A roar of cheering louder then any before came from the Gryffindor table. The twins were loudly and cheerily singing "We got Potter! We got Potter!" at the top of their lungs and having a grand old time. Everyone wanted to shake Harry's hand and were pleased beyond words to meet him.

Once things calmed back down the sorting went on, once it finally reach Ron, he made his way up like he was going to meet death himself. He was white as a sheet and shaking like a leaf. A second after touching his head the hat shouted. "GRYFFINDOR!"

Three red heads at the Gryffindor table stood up and cheered very loudly after hearing this and patted Ron on the back as he sat down next to Harry. Once the last kid was sorted, Dumbledore stood and beamed at the students old and new.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" and then he sat back down. Everyone clapped and cheered. Tera chuckled a bit at this then looked back down at the table and saw food. She grabbed some bacon, some toast, a few french fries and a baked potato. Glad to find that her goblet had strawberry kiwi juice in it.

A few minutes after she had finished eating the plates were sparkling clean again and then desert appeared. Blocks of ice cream in all different flavors, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding...

Tera smiled like a kid in a candy store and filled her plate with strawberries, which were her favorite. She then grabbed a nice sized bowl of whipped cream and was in complete heaven. A few of the older kids watched her with amusement and one guy had his mouth hanging open when she licked some whipped cream off the tip of a strawberry. She just shrugged this off though and finished her strawberries happily, oblivious to another set of eyes watching her from Slytherin table.

The desserts soon disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's eyes flashed to the Weasley twins for a moment. "I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death. And now, before we go to bed, let up sing the school song!" Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high about the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. "Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

Tera made the split second decision to sing it like a lullaby and then the school bellowed:

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of stuff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Everybody finished the song at different times, Tera herself finished it on a pretty little high note. The last people left singing were the Weasley twins who were singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they finished he was one of the ones who clapped the loudest, Tera clapped along with a big smile and laugh.

"Ah music," said Dumbledore, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

Tera got up and looked around, a girl with curly blonde hair and kind honey colored eyes and a badge pinned to her chest was gathering the Hufflepuff first years around her. "First years! Over here little ones!" she said in a singsong sort of voice. "Alright now that I have you all here, I'm Abigail Colthurst, and I'm your Hufflepuff prefect. Its my job to help get you lot settled in and make sure you know your way to our common room. So follow me then dearies." she said with a smile, turning and leading them out of the Great Hall and towards the basement. They passed by a picture of a bowl of fruit and a few of the first years sniffed at the air, smelling food and smiling, looks like they found the kitchen.

They finally stopped in front of a tapestry with a badger on it, lounging under a apple tree, the badger looked over at then and asked in a gruff but friendly voice:  
>"Password?"<p>

Abigail smiled lightly and said, in her singsong voice. "Unity and equality."

The badger gave a small bow. "Lovely way of seeing things my dear Hufflepuffs. You may enter."

Abigail pulled the tapestry to the side to reveal an opening behind it which led into the Hufflepuff common room. "Girls dormitories are through that hallway to the right, boys yours is off to the left. Your things have already been brought in so make yourselves comfortable. Lights out in an hour." said Abigail as she headed off her her dorm and left the first years to themselves.

Tera smiled and headed off to her dormitory. When she walked down the right side hallway she saw a sign that said "First years", she opened the door and ran over to the bed that had her things by them, smiling and pulling her sleeping cat out of her carrier. "I'm a Hufflepuff, Lady!" she said with a great big smile, smothering her cat to her chest in her happiness. Wait until nana hears this! Oh I should write them a letter now!" Tera went to her trunk and pulled out her favorite stationary with its silver and gold star trim, a silvery feather quill and an ink well with royal blue ink in it.

_Dear mother, nana and little brother,_

_Guess what! I'm a Hufflepuff! The sorting went well and things here are just so peaceful and nice. I have already made a friend her name it Hermione Granger, she a Muggle-born and quite smart. I was a bit surprised when she got sorted into Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw but the Sorting Hat knows best. Oh I saw Harry Potter, your right he is going to school with me. He looks just like his father, but has his mother's eyes. He's in Gryffindor just like they were. Lady took the trip here better then I thought she would, she's actually already curled up next to my pillow and snoring. Well I'm sending this too you with Thor so I hope to see a reply back within the week._

_Lots of love and kisses,_

_Tera_

After she finished her letter, she folded it a few times until it resembled a lotus flower, with a smile and a tap of her wand she attached a ribbon to it then walked over to Thor's cage. "Wake up lovey, I've got a job for you." she cooed lightly at the sleeping owl.

Thor woke up and ruffled his feathers, staring up at his young mistress and hooting in greeting, nuzzling her hand when she brought him out of his cage.

"Can you take this letter home for me Thor? I want mother and nana to know which house I got into." Tera said with a bright smile, holding up her origami letter.

Thor hooted in agreement and held out his leg, used to his mistresses origami letters.

Tera tied the ribbon to Thor's leg then took him over to the window, opening it and kissing him lightly on the top of his feathered head. "See you soon then, and do be careful." she said while giving him an owl treat.

Thor nipped her hand lovingly and then took off into the night. A ray of sunshine fading into the night sky.

Tera sighed as she watched him go and then unpacked her pajamas which consisted of a comfortable tank top and a pair of short. She then crawled into bed and sighed, her first day at Hogwarts ending on a good note."Goodnight Lady..." she whispered to her black cat right before she fell into the oblivion that is sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Classes Start Up And Pranks Are Pulled**

Time seemed to fly by for Tera, before long she was figuring her way to her classes and not getting lost anymore. On the first day though she had somehow ended up in the boys lavatory and if that wasn't embarrassing enough, Fred and George had both been in there using the facilities. She had screamed and stumbled backwards out of the room, nearly falling on her bump in the process. She hadn't been able to even look them in the face the rest of that week, turning a fabulous shade of crimson worthy of the Gryffindor emblem and stuttering over her words.

She ran into Hermione a few times and they would work on some of their homework together in the library together, Tera enjoyed this because she had a friend and it helped things to feel normal. She didn't really talk to members of her house all that much, she found most of them a bit boring to be honest.

A week after her big blunder, the twins finally cornered her. "Hey Tera, can we talk to you?" asked one of them, George she thought.

"W-what about?" she asked, trying to find an escape route out of there as she backed into a wall.

"About how you accidentally walked into the boys lavatory and how you've been pretty much avoiding us since, you find detours so you don't even have to walk past us in the halls and have yet to look either one of us in the face." said Fred with a frown.

"You do know we understand right? Hell our first year we somehow got lost and walked into Madam Hooch's personal bathroom while she was in the tub. Couldn't look at her straight for a month. But now, we look back at it and have a good laugh." said George who chuckled at the memory. "Of course there are, bit that we've put a mental block on." he said with a tiny shudder.

"But its a funny memory none the less. So don't be embarrassed its not like you saw any bits that you shouldn't have." said Fred with a small smirk. "And if you did, bet it was a treat."

Tera's blush flamed all the way to the roots of her hair and down her neck, her green eyes wide. She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry from shock. She ended up doing a bit of both, laughing with tears falling from her eyes as she finally looked up at the twins, they wore identical smiles.

"See? Now that's a bit better, no need for a pretty little thing to run around with her head down." said Fred with a smile as he wiped at one of the tears streaming down her cheek.

"Now then, just so we're clear and to appease our curiosity... did you see anything you shouldn't have?" asked George with his brow raised.

Tera looked at him in shock, her face draining a bit of color. "O-of course I didn't!" she said, her chest heaving as she started to hyperventilate. "How... how could you th-think I'd...?"

"Whoa, calm down there. Not accusing you of looking, we were just wondering, what with the way that you had been acting as if you had. That's all, no need to stress out over it." said Fred with a concerned look on his face as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay...?" he asked.

"I-I'll be fine... j-just ha-hard to br-breathe..." she said, swaying slightly on her feet, the edges of her vision getting a bit fuzzy. She held her hand over her chest as she fought to calm her breathing, leaning slightly against Fred without realizing it.

"Are you sure your okay? Cause we could take you to Madam Pomfrey if you need us to..." said George, staring at the girl, worried she'd fall over any minute.

Tera took a deep breath with her eyes closed and her breathing started to calm down, Fred rubbing his hand up and down her back lightly in a soothing manner sort of helped. "I'm f-fine. Just n-needed to catch m-my breath." she said with a small sigh, then she looked up at them both and smiled somewhat shyly. "S-sorry about that..." she said quietly.

"Don't worry about it. We feel bad for causing that." Fred said as he looked down at the small girl, looking into her vivid green eyes. "We didn't mean to make you freak out."

"I know you didn't, p-please don't fret about it. I'll be fine, o-okay?" she said, her voice getting a bit stronger, she then looked down at her heart shaped watch ,which had about five different buttons. "You'd better getting going, classes are going to start in a few minutes and you wouldn't want to be late."

"Oh blimey your right!" yelled George as he grabbed his brother and they started running towards the dungeons. "Snape is going to murder us!"

Tera laughed lightly and stared after them with a smile, those two were really starting to grow on her. She then turned and walked around the corner and into her transfiguration class. Sitting down next to another member of her house and started taking notes. The rest of the day she spent either taking notes or reading a book. That is until Malfoy and his lackies came upon her and Goyle took her book, handing it over to Malfoy.

"How ca you read this Muggle rubbish Howell?" he asked looking over the book like he was looking at something particularly disgusting. "Muggle romances? Honestly why would you want to read this garbage?" he asked, handing the book over to Goyle who tore the book in half.

Tera jumped to her feet, pulling her wand out in a flash and aiming it at Malfoy's face, her own face livid with her fury. "Shouldn't have let him do that Malfoy." she said in a cold voice that sent shivers up Draco's spine. _"Furnunculus!" _yelled Tera, her spell hitting Malfoy clean in the face, boils suddenly popping up and covering his face at an alarming rate. "Better go get that taken care of Malfoy. I'd hate to think what this could do to your pretty boy reputation if left to fester." she said with a cold laugh, picking up the torn halves of her book and leaving Malfoy and his lackies standing there in shock before they ran to get Malfoy to the hospital wing.

From that day on Tera decided that she'd target Malfoy because he deserved to be brought down a few pegs. By the time that Halloween rolled around the score was Tera five, Malfoy one. He only got that one because Tera let her guard drop during mail time and opened her copy of the _Daily Prophet _just to let out a blood curdling scream and run across the Great Hall. Malfoy had somehow snuck a tarantula into her paper.

On Halloween Tera was happier then she had been in a while. She loved to celebrate the holidays. She had done her hair up in a sloppy style, put some purple and orange bells in it and even had a fake bat that would occasionally screech and flap its wings. She got loads of compliments and of course Pansy Parkinson said she looked as though she had let her head roll around in a bad haunted house. She had just smiled and thanked her, that sure did cause Pansy to deflate a bit.

As dinner rolled around Tera filed into the Great Hall with the rest of the students, taking up her usual spot at the Hufflepuff table, waving over at Fred and George, as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table, frowning when she didn't see Hermione. She shrugged figuring she was probably just too caught up with a book to notice the time and would be along shortly.

She helped herself to a baked potato and was halfway through it when Professor Quirrell came running into the hall, his turban all crooked and fear etched across his face as he came up to the teacher's table. "Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know.." and then he fell to the floor in a dead faint.

There was an uproar as students started to scream in fear. It took a few minutes for everyone to calm down enough to hear Professor Dumbledore. "Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Tera looked around and spotted the twins, noting that for once they were listening and also helping their brother Percy get the first years up to the common room. She herself went over to them, really not wanting to go back to her own common room where most of the people she found boring would be. "Hey uhm... think I can sneak up with you two? Hufflepuff common room is a bit... boring honestly." she said with a sigh, hating to admit that she didn't get on great with the members of her own house.

"Well... I guess we could sneak you up for a bit... but we'd have to get there before Percy and smuggle you into our room before anyone saw a little Hufflepuff where she's not suppose to be..." mumbled George.

Fred smiled at this and they nodded at each other. "This sounds like a fun little challenge. Come on then, need to sneak you in before everyone else gets there. Come on, we know some short cuts." and with that they pulled her along with them, going down a few hallways, behind some tapestries and within 5 minutes they were at a picture of a rather large woman in a pink dress.

"Password?" she asked, eying Tera, knowing that she shouldn't be there. While Fred covered Tera's ears, George told the Fat Lady the password and her picture swung open, revealing the portrait hole that led into the Gryffindor common room.

"Common, up here now, hurry up." said Fred as he pulled Tera up the spiral stairs to the left, George tailing along behind them. "Here we are. Welcome to our dormitory." said Fred with a playful little bow.

Tera smiled and walked into the room, looking over at the two beds that just seemed to scream that they belonged to the twins. There were a few chocolate frog wrappers on one of the beds and a few books strewn here and there. She sat down on one of the beds after pulling off her robes and setting them on the end of the bed, she now was standing there in her skirt and button up shirt. "So now what? Oh do you guys have Exploding Snaps?" she asked with a bright smile, truly very happy to be there and not stuck with the members of her own house who though they were very nice, got a bit boring after a while.

"Of course we do!" said George who pulled a pack out of his own robes. They played this for about twenty minutes before Tera turned to them both.

"Hey... would the two of you like to help me pull a prank on Malfoy?" she asked while looking down at the floor.

"Sure! I didn't know Hufflepuffs pulled pranks though.." said Fred with a enthusiastic but confused look.

"Well they don't... but then again I'm not your average little Hufflepuff." said Tera with a mischievous smile. "So here's what I had in mind..." she told them about her plan and they thought it was fantastic, they helped her work it for 2 hours before looking at the time.

"Holy crap... we had better get you to your common room quick. Otherwise you'll get caught out past bedtime by Filch. And that is never a pretty picture. He gets a creepy overly excited smile when he catches someone." said Fred, he handed her back the finished product of their scheming and they lead her down the stairs, out the portrait hole, down a few corridors and secret passage ways, coming out right across from the Hufflepuff tapestry.

"Here you are, safe and sound." the twins said together, a smile across both of their faces. "Can't wait to see Malfoy's face when he opens that little present."

Tera smiled back at them, she had quite enjoyed their company and hadn't laughed this much in months. "Yeah I know what you mean, it'll be great. Thanks for letting me come up and stay with you guys for a while. I had fun, hell that's the most fun I've had... well since I got here." she said, looking at both of them with a sincere little smile. "Well I had best be getting to bed and so should the two of you. Don't want Filch catching you, otherwise I'd feel horrible. Night." she said, giving each of them a hug and then as a second thought pecking them each on the cheek and disappearing behind the tapestry after muttering the password quietly.

The twins smiled at each other then headed back up to their dormitories, they wouldn't get caught by Filch at all.

Tera smacked herself in the forehead once she was in her dormitory, what had compelled her to go and do that for? "Stupid stupid stupid..." she muttered as she got ready for bed. "At least I have tomorrow's prank to look forward to.."

The next morning Tera woke up extra early and headed up to the Owlery, once she got up there she sat down on a clean spot, brought out a piece of dainty pink stationary and purple ink, writing a quick little note to go with her little 'present' for Malfoy.

_Dear Draco,_

_I know you probably have no idea who I am, but I think you are one of the most handsome wizards I have ever seen. I just wanted to give this to you as a small token of my affections for you. I would love ever so much if you would put my present to use during breakfast in the Great Hall. I shall be watching._

_XOXOXO_

_Your pure-blooded secret admirer_

She then sealed the letter with a kiss of cherry red lipstick and smirked. Oh Malfoy was gonna get it. She called down a very handsome tawny owl and tied the box and letter to his leg, giving him a treat and telling him to wait until mail time to deliver this. She then headed downstairs and went straight to the Great Hall, taking her seat and nibbling on a piece of bacon, her eyes glued to Malfoy when he entered the Great Hall, his eyes still half closed with sleepiness.

The twins entered the Great Hall and spotted Tera sitting all by herself, feeling a bit adventurous they went and sat down next to her, getting a few looks of shock from other members of Hogwarts, Tera just looked up and smiled at them lightly, last night still on her mind but forcing her eyes back to Malfoy just as the mail started to arrive.

Draco looked up from his food with surprise when a handsome tawny landed in from of him and held out its leg. He hadn't been expecting anything, what in the world could this be? He opened the letter and as he continued to read it a arrogant smirk worked its way across his pointed face. He looked around, wondering who the lucky girl was then looked back down at the box. Opening it up his eyes widened, whoever this girl was she had impeccable taste.

Out of the box he pulled a silver inkwell stand with a 'M' embossed on the front, the 'M' itself was made out of a silver snake. He then pulled out a smaller box that had a bottle of high grade, jet black ink and an inkwell. Putting it all together he reached in his bag for a quill and a piece of parchment. He was going to grant his admirer's wish and use this wonderful present, with any luck he could look around afterward and see who she was.

Malfoy dipped his quill inside the inkwell and accidentally tapped a blob in it, the moment he did the blob rocketed out of the inkwell and splattered across his face. Across his forehead the word '_Ferret'_ was very apparent and the ink had also stained around his eyes, making him greatly resemble a raccoon. Right after the blob had flown out of the inkwell all the fanciness of it faded away until it was just a cheap one you could buy at a second hand store.

Tera and the twins were laughing so hard they nearly fell off of the bench, most of the Great Hall had looked up when Malfoy had screamed and were now laughing too. Tera six, Malfoy a pitiful one.

"Oh that was just too good! I couldn't have done it without the two of you!" she said, hugging both of them tightly. "You two are the best!" she said, smiling so brightly they thought she might pop any moment now.

"Yeah well it was your idea." said George while scratching the back of his head.

"We just helped you with it a bit." agreed Fred, enjoying her enthusiasm.

"Don't be so modest, you two helped me make it look really fancy, that bit of transfiguration was still a bit beyond me and you pulled it off beautifully. You guys are the best of friends a girl could ask for." she said with a nod before turning back to her breakfast and finishing up, she then grabbed her things and gave them each another hug. "Alright well I'm off to lessons. See you two later." and with that said she hurried off to her first lesson of the day, leaving two red-heads staring after her.

"Fun little thing isn't she?" said George with a laugh.

"Yeah, not at all what you'd expect from a Hufflepuff. I'm starting to wonder why she wasn't put into our house honestly." Fred replied, thinking of their adorable yet devious little friend.

"My thoughts exactly."

With those thoughts still on their minds the twins now headed off to class, they couldn't help but admire how much fun their new friend was.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**Christmas Full Of Pranks**

Nothing really eventful happened after Halloween and things fell back into a dull routine. But now Tera always had something to look forward to, she'd study in the library with Hermione which really helped both girls because they'd get their work done and have a female companion to talk to about things their boys just wouldn't quite understand. Both girls also had male best friends that had a habit of finding trouble. When Tera wasn't studying with Hermione she was spending time with the Weasley twins and pulling pranks on Malfoy, though he was starting to be more on guard so getting him was more of a challenge now.

Not long before Christmas break came rolling around Malfoy had gotten his revenge on Tera, casting a babbling curse on her along with the tickling charm. She was laughing so hard she wanted to cry and couldn't say a single word correctly to tell the twin what had happened, the combination of the two spells lasted most of the day and by the time they wore off she fell against Fred, gasping to catch her breath.

"Tera who did that to you?" asked George while looking at her concernedly.

"It... it was... M-Malfoy..." she said between gasps. "He f-found out I s-sent him the pr-present back a-around Ha-Halloween..."

Fred and George both growled, Malfoy was gonna get it this time, no one picks on their little Hufflepuff and gets away with it. "We'll take care of him." they both said together, they nodded at each other from over her head and then Fred picked her up bridal style, her hands fisting in the front of his robes..

"Come on little Hufflepuff, we're taking you up to our room to rest until dinner time." with that said both boys took a few of their short cuts until they reached the picture of the Fat Lady, by that time Tera's breathing had evened out and she had rested her head against Fred shoulder, falling into an exhausted sleep.

George told the Fat Lady the password and then they snuck past two 7th years who were snogging on the love seat, and up to their room. Fred walked over to his bed and tried to put Tera down but she clung to the front of his robes. Finally he just gave up and sat down, setting her comfortably in his lap and looking over at his amused twin.

"She seems to have taken a liking to you Freddie." said George with a smirk.

"She's just tired and... oh just hush! We need to come up with a plan to get that ferret back for picking on our little Hufflepuff." said Fred, glancing down at the sleeping girl in his lap, then back up at his brother.

George's smirk grew even bigger as he laid out the plan with his brother, an hour later the plan was settled, and Malfoy wouldn't know what had hit him. They both then looked down at the sleeping Hufflepuff in Fred's lap. "Think we should wake her?" George asked while putting a few of his things away in his trunk.

"Yeah we probably should. Its almost time for dinner. Tera? Tera its time to wake up.." said Fred as he shook her shoulder lightly.

Tera scrunched her brow and snuggled farther into Fred's robes, mumbling something about 'annoying ferrets' and 'slimy Slytherins'.

Fred and George both laughed at this. "Tera, come on love its time to wake up." they both said, each poking her in the side to try and rouse her.

Tera giggled and squirmed against Fred, trying to get away from their fingers and groaning 'stop it... that tickles' in her sleep.

The twins looked at each other and smirked, so she's ticklish huh? That is something they'd have to remember for a later date. For now though they still have to wake her up. Both thought for a second and then Fred had a small idea.

"Tera wake up right now or I'm going to bite you." he said with a smile on his face, either way this would be fun.

Tera just sighed and snuggled closer, her nose resting right against Fred's neck, her warm breath fanning across it.

"Fine, have it your way then." said Fred, his voice dropping just a bit, he then lowered his head towards her neck, mumbling, "Last chance to wake up before I bite you." when she didn't wake up he brushed his lip across her jugular for a second then bit down with enough pressure to cause her to scream and jump against him. He let go and looked down at the wide eyed little Hufflepuff in his lap, her chest heaving as she reached up to touch the spot he had bit.

"What the hell was that for?" Tera asked with a growl.

"Well you wouldn't wake up and that seemed like a good way to do it." said Fred with a smirk.

Tera just grumbled at this, a small blush on her cheeks. "Whatever. So what time is it?"

"Almost dinner time, come on. We have to sneak you out." said George as he got up and headed for the door.

Tera and Fred followed and soon they were heading down to the Great Hall, the twins wearing identical mischievous smiles and Tera looking a bit clueless. When they entered the Great Hall the twins went with Tera over to her usual spot the the Hufflepuff table, most people had grown used to this since their budding friendship had started and just kept eating.

After they sat down the twins kept an eye out for Malfoy, as soon as he entered the Great Hall and sat down to eat the twins put their plan into action. Both took out their wands and pointed them at Malfoy. As soon as their spells hit a great majority of the Great Hall burst into laughter. Malfoy's hair and turned a brilliant shade of hot pink and his robes had turned into a ice blue ball gown with matching heels.

In his embarrassment Malfoy ran out of the Great Hall, falling once and showing off his vivid pink knickers to match his hair.

"And that's what that slimy git gets for picking on our Hufflepuff." the twins said, smirking from ear to ear.

Tera looked over at the twins, her mouth hanging open, they had planned all of this while she was asleep, just to get back at Malfoy for her? She threw herself at them both and pulled them into a near bone crushing hug, tears in her eyes. "I can't believe... the two of you would do that for me..." she mumbled against their shoulders, nearly sitting in Fred's lap so she could hug both of them. "You two are the best..."

The twins both looked at each other over her head a bit unsure of what to do. "It was nothing really..." said George a bit awkwardly, Fred nodded in agreement. "We just didn't think he should get away with doing that to you."

Tera sat back up and smiled at the two of them. "Thank you.."

A week passed and then it was Christmas break, Tera had sent home a letter to her mother about staying at Hogwarts for break and to give her love to everyone at home, she also used a few of the school owls to send home her presents. A ring with a silver rose on it she a found months ago in Diagon Alley for her nana, a book she thought her mother would love called _One Thousand Ways To Make Your Garden Beautiful,_ and a small life like dragon figurine for her brother, it snarled, snorted and even breathed fire that was safe to the touch.

Once she came back down from the Owlery she went in search of her two favorite red-heads, wondering if they were heading home of stay here or heading home to The Burrow. When she finally found them they were playing a game of exploding snaps.

"Hello boys! So you heading home for the holidays?" she asked while taking a seat next to Fred, her usual school robes replaced with a pair of faded jeans and a soft white off the shoulder sweater with red holiday flowers printed around the collar.

"Nope. Mum and dad decided to go visit our old brother Charlie in Romania. We told you about him right?" asked George.

"Yeah the one who works with dragons and is built sort of like a tank right?" she asked with a smile, pushing the second button on her watch and checking it, then pushing the first button and looking back up at them.

"Yup that's the one. By the way we never asked you, but what with all the buttons on your watch?" asked Fred while looking that the heart shaped watch with its five different buttons.

"Oh this thing? My nana gave it to me right before I left for Hogwarts. Its a family tradition of ours. When you reach Hogwarts age, you get one of these watches. They're really a nifty little thing. The first button tells me the time, the second lets me know what the people I care about are up to, see?" she said while pushing the second button. The face of the watch changed and suddenly they saw 3 names appear along with words next to them. _Rosella ~ Home, Persephone ~ Work, Callum ~ Home (sleeping)._

"Wow, that's kind of like our mother's grandfather clock at home. It tells her it we're home, at school, traveling, at work, or in mortal danger." said George while looking at the watch. "So what do the other buttons do?"

Tera smiled and clicked the third button and a picture appeared. In it were four happy smiling people waving at the camera. Tera was standing in the middle with a young boy with black kind of wavy hair and blue-hazel eyes that seemed to slowly change color standing next to her, smiling from ear to ear. Behind them stood two women, one looked to be Tera's mother, her long strawberry-blonde hair tied in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder, her stormy blue-gray eyes twinkling as she smiled down at her two children and then up at the camera. And next to her stood a kind older witch, her gray eyes holding wisdom and kindness as she too waved at the camera, her salt and pepper hair tied back in a bun.

"Is this your family?" the twins asked with a smile, looking at the happy faces.

"Yeah it is, this was taken the day before I got my letter. That's my nana Rosella, my mother Persephone, and my younger brother Callum." she said as she smiled fondly down at the picture. She then clicked the fourth button and the twins gasped lightly, there was a picture of them pulling one of there most recent pranks, the picture faded out and was replaced by the smiling face of Hermione Granger after a few moments that picture faded too and was replaced with Harry and Ron who had just recently started talking with Tera. "Its a slide show of all my friends..." said Tera in a small voice, a light smile on her lips.

The twins looked up at her and smiled from ear to ear, Fred pulling her into a hug. "That thing is brilliant! How in the world though did you get that picture without us knowing?" he asked.

"I have my ways." she said with a playful little smile.

"So what does the last button do?" asked George who just shook his head, figuring she wasn't going to tell them how she had gotten that picture without them knowing.

"Oh that button it only for medical emergencies. Mom put something in there and told me only to press that button if someone it badly injured." she said while pressing the first button to bring back her watch face. "Hey I just had an idea... do you guys want to come over for a week during the summer? We have a few guest rooms and I'm sure mother wouldn't mind. Then I can have her work the two of you into my watch too!" Tera said with a bright smile.

"I guess we could ask mum if we could." said George.

"Not sure how she'll respond to us going over to stay at a girls house though." said Fred with a shrug.

"Oh its not like any funny business would be going on, you'd have your own rooms and you'd only be over for a week." said Tera with a small pout.

"We'll see what we can do." the twins said with reassuring smiles.

A few days later Tera woke up to the twins yelling "HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" in her ear. Lee Jordan had gone home for the holidays so Tera had snuck up into the twin's dormitory the night before and had slept in Lee's bed. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, mumbling a sleepy "Morning...". When she looked up she gasped with surprise, looks like someone knew she was up here. The foot of Lee's bed was covered in presents with her name on them.

"Well go on then open your presents! We've already opened ours." said the twins who were sitting on the sides of her bed wearing blue knitted sweaters with a yellow 'G' and a yellow 'F' on them.

Tera smiled brightly and climbed to the foot of the bed, picking up the first present which was from Hermione, the note said.

'_Thanks for the book on 'Famous Witches of the Last Three-Centuries' I love it! Hope you enjoy your present! I have it's mate. -Hermione' _

Opening the present Tera found a silver friendship bracelet with little silver 'T' charm on it. She smiled and put the bracelet on, noticing how it felt warm against her skin. She also noticed there was a small bag of Muggle candy with it, toffees, peppermints and some salt water taffy. Next she picked up a box with some scraggly writing on the card.

_'Happy Christmas Tera, thanks again for the box of chocolate frogs. I got one of the cards I've been missing! So again... thanks! Ron' _

Opening this box she found a small stuffed toy dog, its ears all floppy and a cute expression on its face. "Awww that's so cute!" she said as she placed it on the bed with a smile, next she picked up a present with Harry's handwriting on it.

'_Happy Christmas cousin Tera! It's nice to know I have a bit of family here, no matter how distantly related we are. I hope you like this, I didn't quite know what to get you... ~Harry'_

Tera opened this present and let out a giggle. Harry had gotten her a stuffed toy ferret that was a blondish white color. "Wow Malfoy really does look like a ferret." she said after a minute of looking at the toy, noticing the resemblance.

"Yeah he does doesn't he? Here open ours next!" said George, handing her two identically wrapped presents.

Tera smiled and opened George's first, her eyes tearing up a bit when she unwrapped a picture of the three of them, smiling up at her from a silver vine-work frame. "Oh George... Its beautiful..." she said, reaching blindly for his hand through her tears and giving it a squeeze. "I love it." Tera said as she looked up at him. "Thank you, but you really didn't have to spend so much on me.."

"Don't worry about it, I had a little extra money and it didn't cost me too much so don't worry about it okay?" said George, glad she had liked his present.

Tera nodded and then opened Fred's present, giving a small laugh and smiling when she saw what it was, it was a three part present. A picture of the two of them drawing on George's face while he was sleeping in a hand carved wood frame, a self tallying Tera vs. Malfoy score board, and a small silver locket. When you opened the locket, a light tune, like that of a music box would play, and there was a picture of the three of them out by the lake, sitting under a tree. "Freddie..." she whispered, looking up at him with teary green eyes, at a complete lose for words.

"Happy Christmas Tera." he said with a bright smile, laughing when she launched herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Glad you like it, I be-spelled the locket myself. Had issues finding something not to big down at Hogsmeade though. They sell lots of big gaudy things down there."

"Thank you... its wonderful..." she mumbled against his chest, her tears starting to seep through his sweater. She sat back up and wiped at her eyes, sniffling lightly. "What did I do to deserve two wonderful friends like you boys?" she said with a sweet smile. She then picked one of the last three presents and smiled. "This one is from my nana..."

"Well don't keep us waiting! Open it and lets she what she sent you!" said George with a playful laugh.

Tera smiled over at him and opened the present, laughing when she saw what it was. "Just like nana, to send me clothing for Christmas." she pulled out a very pretty dress that was white as snow with holly red diagonal stripes on it. "I guess I get to look like a candy cane." she said with a laugh, smiling when she found a pair of red flats to go with the dress.

"Here open this one next, I think its from your brother." said Fred, holding out a fat envelope.

Tera took it from him, grazing his fingers lightly with her own and blushing faintly. She opened the envelope and laughed. Inside were pictures of her brother, there was one where him and his owl Loki were hiding from mum in a tree, another where he was sneaking up on nana to try and swipe one of her cookies and other random and comical pictures, there was also a note.

_'Dear Tera,_

_I know your off at Hogwarts, learning how to do all sorts of amazing things, but I do miss you big sister. I took these pictures so you could in a way be part of my little adventures too. Just think, in another year and a half, I'll be there with you. Well I hope you enjoy the pictures. I also went into town with mum and bought you a holiday ribbon to go with the dress nana got you. There's a pair of bell earrings I made too (with mum's help). Hope you enjoy it._

_Lots of love,_

_Callum'_

Tera smiled and wiped a small tear from her eyes, putting the note down and pulling out the ribbon that was very long, the color of holly berries, and an adorable pair of silver bell earrings.

The twins looked up from the note to the things her brother had given her. "So how old is this kid anyways?" they asked.

"He's turning ten next month." Tera said while putting on the earrings. "He wont be old enough to start school next year but he'll be one of the oldest kids in his class the year after that." she said with a small smile, using her wand to french braid her hair, having the ribbon braided in with it then tied in a bow at the end.

"Ah so we should be expecting another Howell in 2 years then." said George with a laugh.

"Yup. He's a mischievous little thing. I highly doubt he'll end up a Hufflepuff. If I had to bet on anything... I'm betting he'll be in your guy's house." she said with a small shrug, pulling the last present towards her.

"Really? But I thought that you generally stay in the house your family is in?" said Fred who was playing with her earrings, making them chime lightly.

"Well not in my family. You see my nana was a Hufflepuff, mum was a Ravenclaw, and Callum's father was a Gryffindor." said Tera with a laugh at Fred's antics while opened a box from her mother that had 3 new Muggle romance novels for her and 3 fantasy books by an author called Tamora Pierce.

"What about your dad? Since you said that Callum's father was a Gryffindor. What house did your dad belong to?" asked George who had opened one of her toffees and was munching on it with enthusiasm.

"I... I don't like to talk about him..." said Tera lightly, her voice taking on a cold and bitter edge.

Fred looked over at her and saw her hands clenched while she glared down at the bit of bed in front of her. "Tera... why don't you like talking about your father, love?"

She looked up at him, her vibrant green eyes shining with angry tears. "I hate my father. I hate him for what he did to my mother and because of what he is. I hope he rots in hell for all eternity. That slimy Slytherin bag of scum." she said, venom dripping from her voice and tears streaming down her face in angry torrents.

"Tera, how can you say that about your own father? What could he have possibly done to make you hate him so much?" George asked while sitting down in front of her, kind of shocked that a sweet little Hufflepuff like her came from a combo of Ravenclaw and Slytherin and could sound so bitter and hurt.

Fred wrapped his arm around her shoulders and wiped her tears away with his thumb. "Talk to us love. What did he do?"

Tera sighed, looking up at the ceiling cause she didn't want to see the shock in their faces. She was afraid they'd look at her not as their friend, but something horrible and vial. "My mother never loved my father, in all honesty she hated him with a passion. But my father was obsessed with her. In August of 1979 my father caught my mother one day when she was heading home. He raped and tortured her for hours, and if that wasn't enough he branded his initials into her hip with dark magic, forever marking her as his conquest. I was born the following year." she whispered, tears starting to leak down her face.

Both boys while listening to this story had grabbed onto her hands, holding them as they trembled and clenched.

"Though my mother hated my father, I was her ray of sunshine in the darkness that had surrounded her. My father... was a Death Eater. And he is now rotting in Azkaban for the atrocities he has committed." she said in a whisper, tears streaming down her face in torrents as she remembered the pain she had watched flash across her mother's face when she had told her. "He hurt her so bad, and yet she is still so strong... All for me and Callum."

The twins just stared at their friend is shock, this was a lot to take in. It was no wonder that Tera hated her father, they hadn't even met the guy and they hated him for the horrible things he had done. Fred pulled her closer to him and held her tight, wishing he could shield her from all of the pain and shame she was feeling because of her father.

"I... I'll u-understand if yo-you don't want to be fr-friends with the da-daughter of a D-Death Eater..." she mumbled with a small whimper, looking down and letting her bangs fall across her face to hide the anguish etched there.

George placed a hand under Tera's chin and made her look up at them. "Tera... we're not going to stop being friends with you, just because your father is a bad guy. Your our friend, and that's not going to change." he said, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes.

"Yeah baby girl, you can't get rid of us that easy. Think telling us you've got a big bad daddy Death Eater is gonna scare us away? Not happening. Your stuck with us." said Fred with a smile while tucking her bangs behind ears.

Tera looked at the boys in shock, her boys.. "You... you still w-want to be my fr-friends?" she asked in shock.

"Of course!" said the twins together.

Tera smiled and pulled both of them into a hug with a sob. "Thank you, thank you so much..." she sobbed.

Fred and George both smiled, patting her on the back. After another ten minutes Tera had calmed down and let them go, smiling at them shyly as she held out her presents to them. The twins smiled and opened the presents, gasping when they saw the beautifully crafted silver watches, each had five buttons just like Tera's watch did. The watches were marked with their initials in Tera's swirling handwriting. "Tera... how...?" they both asked her in shock.

"I sent my mother a letter a few weeks ago about wanting to get you both something special... so I had her have these made for you two. And I had her cast the enchantments on them too. The place that made my watch made yours to my specifications and even used my writing for your initials. So I guess its got a bit of my personal touch. First button tells the time. Second button, with the help of your family, shows how they are, and how I am too. Third button has a picture of your family that your mom sent after I wrote her a letter, by the way she says its fine if you spend a week over the summer. Fourth has pictures of me, Lee, Katie, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Angelina, and even Oliver. And the last button opens the watch like a locket and you can hide something small in there." said Tera with a small smile, blushing lightly while they stared at her.

The twins clicked the last button and the watch popped open, inside of each was a small note.

_'Merry Christmas, I hope you enjoy this little gift from me. Don't fret about costs otherwise I'll growl at you. Just enjoy the present and be happy. Lost of love, Tera'_

They both smiled up at her and each pecked her on the cheek, a vivid blush flamed across her face like wildfire. "Thanks Tera." "Yeah thanks love." they both said.

"N-not a problem." she said waving them off. "Now if you two could turn around for a few minutes... I kind of need to get dressed..." she said, the blush on her face quite prominent.

"Huh...? Oh, of course!" said the twins with blushes of their own as the turned to face the door.

Tera chuckled at this then got off the bed, pulling off her shorts and tank top then pulling out fresh undergarments. After pulling them on and putting on the dress and shoes her grandmother had sent her, she then looked over at the boys. "Okay I'm dressed..." she said lightly.

The boys turned back around and their eyes widened, they had only ever seen Tera in school robes or loose fitting clothes, but in this dress she really was a sight to behold.

"Well... how do I look?" she asked shyly, looking down and smoothing the front of her dress. It had an off the shoulder style with long sleeves and hugged her waist.

"Very pretty." said George with a smile.

"You look good enough to eat." teased Fred as he stared at her peppermint colored dress, his eyes twinkling playfully.

Tera giggled and then held up the locket Fred had gotten her. "Would you mind...?" she asked lightly, holding the locket out to him.

"Not a problem." he grabbed the locket and unhooked the clasp, he then moved behind her and brushes a loose bit of hair off of her neck and brought his arms over her head, then hooked the clasp again. "There you are." he said with a smile, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear and resting his head on her shoulder. "So now what?" he asked, his breath fanning against her cheek and he watched in interest as a blush spread from her cheeks and down her neck.

"U-uhm... well I g-guess we he-head down for b-breakfast..." she stuttered out.

"Alright." he said with smile, pecking her lightly on the cheek. "But you need to face the other way while we get dressed too." he said while moving over to his trunk to get something to change into.

Tera blushed and walked over to the door, staring at it while the boys got dressed, then after a few minutes she felt a pair of arms hug her around the waist and blushed crimson.

"We're ready to go love. Time to sneak you out again, this seems to be becoming a common thing." said Fred with a small chuckle next to her ear.

Tera sighed and decided to play along with his little game. She leaned back against his chest and turned her head to face him. "Yeah well I guess you just can't get enough of me." she whispered to him playfully, pecking him on the cheek. "Now lets get down to breakfast, I'm famished!" she said in a cheery voice, smiling back at them and heading down, sneaking past Percy who was reading a book and out the portrait hole.

Fred just stared after her, his mouth hanging open.

"Better close your mouth Freddie, otherwise you'll start catching flies." said George with a laugh, popping his brother's chin up lightly then following heading down the stair, yelling back about stopping in on their little brother.

"R-right..." said Fred as he too headed down to their brother and Harry's room, still in a bit of shock at what had happened. Had she just... flirted back?

Fred shook his head and put on his normal cheery face, bouncing into Harry and Ron's dormitory. After spending time in there they headed down and had breakfast, showing off their new watches and smiling at Tera who was catching quite a few people's attention with her festive outfit. Even Dumbledore himself complimented her on her holiday spirit waving his wand and producing a Christmas flower which Tera fastened into her hair with a smile.

The rest of the day was spent pulling pranks on people who got stuck under the mistletoe. Sometimes the mistletoe would throw its berries at the couple caught under it, other times people had their lips glued together for the next ten minutes, and their favorite was the couple who's hair had ended up in Christmas colors for the rest of the day.

By the time dinner rolled around Tera was all smiles and laughter, she was having a grand time sitting over at the Gryffindor table and watching the Weasley's interact with each other.

After dinner Tera pulled on her winter cloak and went outside, laughing as she watched the boys have a snowball fight, occasionally launching a snowball into the fray and laughing when she got Fred in the face. Hiding behind an umbrella when he tried to get his revenge and sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

When the boys finally started to feel the cold Tera walked with them back up to the Gryffindor common room, covering her ears when the password was asked for and then smiling brightly when she conjured up some hot chocolate for them all. She then sat and watched Harry lose a game of wizard chess to Ron, he was doing okay until he had started listening to Percy.

As everyone started to get sleepy Tera curled up on one of the armchairs, giggling lightly when Percy started to chase Fred and George around the room, they had stolen his prefects badge again.

When everyone began to retire to bed Tera snuck around Percy, pretending to leave but headed back up to the bed she had slept in the night before, changing into her silky holiday nightgown. She yawned and stretched lightly, the boys came up into the room. "Hey boys, you heading to bed now too?" she asked as she yawned lightly.

The boys blinked as light blushes spread across their cheeks. "Tera... what are you wearing?" they asked, avoiding looking at her.

"Hmm? Oh this? It's a holiday nightgown I bought in a Muggle store, I thought it was cute..." she said while looking down at it. It was a deep crimson covered in emerald green and pearly white bits of mistletoe, it fell to about an inch above her knees. "Is there something wrong with it?" she asked with a bit of worry.

"No no nothing is wrong with it, just... just used to seeing women in longer nightgowns is all." they said, used to their mom and sister's floor length ones.

"Oh, okay." she said with a shrug, walking up to each of them and hugging them. "Night Freddie, Night George. Sleep well." she said with a small yawn, pecking each on the cheek then crawling into bed. "Nighty night."

The twins both smiled lightly as she fell asleep, changing into the pajama pants and tank tops, they both walked over and kissed Tera lightly on the forehead. "Good night, little Hufflepuff." and with that said they too crawled into their beds and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**The Hufflepuff Cheering For Gryffindor**

The days passed quickly and soon the next Quidditch match was soon upon them, it was to be Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. The twins were looking more and more stressed the closer it got to game day, Snape was going to referee the upcoming game and that alone had Gryffindors feeling quite collywobbles.

Tera did her best to keep their moods up, bringing in fresh baked cookies that she had made after sneaking into the kitchens and asking the house elves to let her, that it helped make her happy, though it made the house elves nervous to have someone else cooking. They were quite excited though to help her gather the ingredients and measure them out for her.

"Tera how in the world did you get the house elves to actually let you cook in their kitchen?" asked Fred while he devoured a few cookies.

"I was nice to them and asked them to help so they were more then happy to let me." she said with a smile, glad they were enjoying the cookies.

"And you made these the Muggle way?" asked George who had just finished his third cookie.

"Yup, I've learned how to cook the Muggle way, been doing it for about 3 years now. I know how to do lots of things the Muggle way." Tera replied with a smile.

"Brilliant!" said the twins with a laugh. "That has got to come in handy what with not being able to use magic outside of school."

"Yes it comes in quite handy, mum and nana made sure I know about Muggle things so I can blend in if need be." she said with a small laugh. "Well you two had better rest up, big match tomorrow. Can't let my house beat you now can ya?" she teased them, pecking each on the cheek then leaving out the portrait.

"Almost sounds like she'll be rooting for us instead of her own house.." Fred said with a small laugh.

"Yes well we've always said she should have been a Gryffindor." George replied, thinking of their little Hufflepuff and how she just didn't quite fit the bill. :We had best be getting to bed like she said, night Fred." said George as he crawled into bed and fell asleep quickly.

As Tera made her way down to the Hufflepuff common room she stopped in the kitchens, asking the house elves to possibly make french toast and sausages for breakfast tomorrow, and maybe some chocolate chip cookies. She then smiled and waved, heading through the tapestry after giving the password, and then heading straight to bed.

The next morning saw the Weasley twins sleep and a bit nervous about the game later that day. Tera walked over the the Gryffindor table with a smile, sitting down right in the middle of them. gMorning boys. Lovely day for a Quidditch match isn't it?h she asked cheerily, grabbing a sausage and nibbling on it hungrily. "Did you get enough sleep last night?" she inquired, looking at each of them in turn.

"Not really." they mumbled around yawns.

"Oh poor dears... well here drink these to try and wake you up." she said, holding out to each of them a cup of strong coffee. "Come on drink up!" she said with a laugh when they made faces at it.

They twins grit their teeth and downed the coffee in a few gulps, pulling faces after they were done. "That stuff was bloody awful." they said in disgust.

"Yes well sometimes things are. Bet you feel more awake now though, don't you?" she said with a smile around her second sausage.

The twins grumbled out an agreement.

"See? Now then, when your out on the field please try to be careful alright, one wrong move and Snape will be jumping down your throats faster then you can say Quidditch." Tera told them with a serious look. "Best be off, see you boys later!" she said, her face turning back to its normal happy self.

Out on the Quidditch pitch Tera took her spot amongst the Hufflepuffs, her Hufflepuff scarf wrapped around her neck and small flag in her hand. As she sat there she looked over towards the Gryffindor locker room, smiling lightly when she saw Fred stick his head out, how she knew it was Fred, she wasn't quite sure. She waved at him and then spotted Harry looking out too.

A few minutes later both teams were out on the field, and they were up and off. Tera winced when Hufflepuff was awarded a penalty because George had hit a Bludger at Snape. She frowned and shook her head when Snape awarded them another penalty shot for no reason at all, this was just not right.

There was a commotion just a short distance away, Tera looked over and had to laugh, Ron had just socked Malfoy in the eye. "GO RON!" she yelled with a laugh, looking up when the whistle sounded and smiling. Harry had just caught the snitch!

After the match which had lasted barely five minutes the boys were nearly bowled over by a blur of black and yellow. Upon closer inspection it was indeed their little Hufflepuff. "Whoa there Tera, where's the fire?" they asked with a laugh.

Tera just smiled up at them, excitement sketched across her face. "Your brother gave Malfoy a black eye!h she yelled with a laugh. gIt was bloody brilliant!"

"He did what? Wait just one moment. Your talking about Ron? Our little brother?" George asked in astonishment.

"No of course not. I'm talking about Percy," she said in a sarcastic tone. "of course I'm talking about Ron, silly!"

Fred and George both looked at her like she had grown a second head and then suddenly identical grins split their faces from ear to ear. "Double win for Gryffindor!" they yelled with a laugh, each spinning Tera around as she laughed like a small child.

"Party up in the Gryffindor common room, come on love!" said Fred with a laugh, pulling her along after them.

Tera just smiled and trotted along after them, taking off her Hufflepuff scarf and hiding it in her robes. On the way up they all stopped off in the kitchens, grabbing some cakes and other things, taking them up to Gryffindor tower. Tera spent a few hours up there, finally leaving just ten minutes before bedtime. gNight boys.h she said waving back at them and with that she was off.

The next few days saw Hermione starting to get a bit hectic. She kept talking about how exams were only ten weeks away so she'd spend lots of her spare time in the library, Tera would occasionally join her, keeping her company and quizzing her when asked.

"'Mione, you do realize your the smartest witch in our class. You really don't have to study so hard." said Tera while she was quizzing Hermione.

"Not study so hard?" she asked, the look on her face a bit frantic. "These exams are important! We need them to become second years!" she replied. "I should have started studying months ago!" her hair getting frizzier by the minute from her stress.

"'Mione just calm down, you'll do amazing. Your far too smart not to okay?" she said with a small smile, trying to calm her friend down.

"Alright but I still need to study." said Hermione who realized stressing out around Tera wasn't getting her anywhere.

Tera just smiled and looked down at her watch, clicking the second button and frowning. "I'll see you later Hermione, I have to go write a letter." That said Tera got up and nearly ran up to the Owlery, pulling some stationary, quill and ink out of her bag, calling Thor down and starting her letter.

_Dear mother,_

_I looked at my watch just a few moments ago and saw that Callum is sick, what's wrong with him? I hope it is nothing to worry about.. Please write back quickly._

_Lots of love,_

_Tera_

She quickly folded the letter into a medical cross and tied it to Thor's leg. "Hurry and get this to mother please. Thank you Thor, stay safe." she handed him and treat and he took off, Tera watched as he disappeared into the sky.

"What are you doing up here Howell?" asked Malfoy who had just come up the stairs, a letter in his hand.

"I don't see how that's any of your business Ferret." she replied while gathering up her things.

"Oh come now, can't we just get along, even for just a bit?" asked Malfoy with a sneer while he attached his letter to his own owl and saw it off out the window.

Tera laughed and rolled her eyes. "Your only asking that cause you haven't got your body guards with you. Whats the matter Malfoy? Scared of a tiny little Hufflepuff?" she asked with a sneer of her own.

"Oh not a chance Howell." he replied with a growl, his fists clenched as he towered over her, almost a head taller then her.

"Ooh I'm sooo scared. Piss off Malfoy." she said while turning to leave.

"Not so fast! _Furnun–" _he started.

_"Petrificus Totalus!" _screamed Tera who had pulled her wand out in a flash and hit Malfoy with body-bind curse before he could finish saying the spell he was trying to use on her. "Don't even try to use that on me Malfoy. No one likes a copy-cat." she said with a dark laugh, smacking his cheek lightly when she squatted down to move his wand away from him. "I don't know about you but I'm famished. I'm heading to dinner. Hope you enjoy your time with the owls." she said, getting up and leaving the Owlery with a skip in her step.

When Tera arrived down at dinner she joined her friends over at Gryffindor table with a smirk.

"Whats got you so happy?" asked George after she sat down between him and Fred.

"Oh nothing..." she said, her smirk getting even bigger until it was worthy of the twins themselves.

"Oh we know that smirk all too well. That's one of ours. What have you been up too love?" Fred asked, pinning her with his stare.

"Well if you must know... I had a bit of a run in with Malfoy..." she said offhandedly, grabbing herself a piece of chicken and nibbling on it, trying to hide her smile.

"He didn't try anything funny did he?" they asked with a growl.

"Well... he tried to play off that he wanted to be peaceful, mainly cause the gorillas weren't there. I teased him about being scared of me and he got his knickers in a twist and tried to use the Furnunculus Curse on me. I hit him with a Body-Binding Curse..." she said with a shrug, the Weasley worthy smirk back on her face.

The twins both stared at her in a tiny state of shock, and then grinned from ear to ear. "That's our girl!" they said with a laugh, each one patting her on the back. "Your a tough little Hufflepuff you are."

Tera just smiled at this, a light blush fanning across her cheeks at the compliments.

Current score. Tera 8, Malfoy 2.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Here is the last chapter of this story. It might take me a while to get Year 2 of Tera's schooling up and posted since I've run into a bit of writers block. But please just bear with me. Thank you to julescapulet who thus far has been my one and only review. Lots of thanks to you. ^^ I hope you enjoy this update, please let me know what you think. Constuctive critisism is welcomed, just don't rip me to pieces with it. Thank.**

**~BrokenAngel363 **

**Chapter 7**

**Year One Comes To An End**

As soon as Tera heard the news she rushed to the Hospital Wing. There in one of the beds was Harry, he was out like a light, she placed a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans down next to his bed as a get well present.

"Did you hear? He fought You-Know-Who again and came out alive!" said the twins excitedly while trying to place a toilet seat on the table next to her present. But as soon as they did Madam Pomfrey came out and confiscated it, complaining about how unhygienic it was and kicking all three of them out.

Tera just rolled her eyes with a smile and went with the twins to play a game of Exploding Snaps down in the Great Hall.

That night at the end-of-year feast, the Great Hall was decked out in Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning of the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table. Tera sighed as she took her proper spot at the Hufflepuff table, feeling that she ought to sit there even if she didn't really want to. The twins both smiled at her from their place at the Gryffindor table, making a few silly faces to lighten her mood and get her smiling.

A hush fell over the Great Hall, Harry had just walked in and everyone looked his way. Then everyone started talking loudly again. Tera watched him slip into a seat between Hermione and Ron, rolling her eyes as people started standing up to get a look at him. "You'd think he had two heads or something the way people keep trying to get a look at him." she mumbled under her breath.

"Another year gone!" said Dumbledore cheerily. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts... Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

The Slytherin table got loud with cheering and stamping at this. Malfoy banging his goblet on the table with a annoying and triumphant smirk.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The Great Hall fell silent, the smiles on the Slytherin's faces fading greatly.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes... First – to Mr. Ronald Weasley..."

Tera watched as Ron went purple in the face, he looked like a sun-burnt turnip.

"... for the best played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in may years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Percy was just beaming from ear to ear, yelling above the Gryffindor cheers. "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

At last there was silence again.

"Second – to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points... Third – to Mr. Harry Potter..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "... for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

The screams of joy were deafening, anyone who could count knew that Gryffindor was now tied with Slytherin for the cup. If only Dumbledore had give Harry one more point..

Dumbledore raised his hand. The room slowly but surely fell silent again. "There are all kinda of courage," said Dumbledore smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

The Great Hall erupted in great screams of joy, Neville ended up buried under people trying to hug him

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storms of applause, Tera screaming happily at the top of her lungs and laughing at Malfoy's face. gwe need a little change of decoration.h He clapped his hands and in an instant the green hangings became scarlet and silver melted into gold. The Slytherin serpent faded away and in its place blazed the towering Gryffindor lion. Tera just laughed and ran over to the twins, pulling them into a hug with a bright smile. This was a very good last night indeed.

Once Tera got her exam results she was greatly pleased to see that she had gotten all good grades, things evened out rather well. Her wardrobe was now empty, her trunk fully packed. Thor and Lady in their respecting cages. Notes handed out reminding students not to use magic over the summer, much to Fred's displeasure.

First years took a reverse path of the one they took on their first night. Sailing across the lake to board the Hogwarts Express. The country side zoomed past them. Tera had taken up a compartment with her two favorite boys and their friend Lee.

They were all munching on cookies when Tera left them to go change into her Muggle clothes, passing Malfoy along the way and smirking at him. "Have a nice summer Malfoy." she said with a small laugh, ducking into the bathroom before he could say anything back.

Once she locked the door she pulled off her school robes, pulling on a teal colored tank top, a black zip up jacket, a pleated denim skirt and a pair of black boots. She pulled her hair out of its normal braid and shook it out, smiling at her reflection and then opening the door, walking past Malfoy who's mouth was hanging open and back into her compartment, putting her robes in her trunk. "All set here?" she asked looking over at the twins who had the same expression of shock as Malfoy. "What?" she asked, her head tilted in confusion.

They both just shook their heads and mumbled under their breaths, stuffing their own robes in their trunks.

"So uhm... how are we getting to your house love?" asked Fred after a few minutes.

"Oh that's easy. Mom got permission from the Ministry of Magic to make a portkey to our house. It takes far too long to travel there any other way." she said with a small smile, sitting down next to Fred and pulling out one of her books, Lady crawling up into her lap and purring happily.

Once they reached Kings Cross they gathered up their things, the twins told Tera just to worry about her animals, they'd take care of her trunk. She smiled and pecked each of them on the cheek, gathering up her owl and cat she walked along with the twins until it was their turn to leave out the barrier. When they came out the other side they walked towards the entrance and Tera screamed happily and ran at a short woman in a black pinstriped suit.

"MUM!" Tera yelled as she launched herself into her mothers arms, hugging her tightly. "I missed you!"

"And I missed you baby girl." her mother said affectionately, looking up at the two red-headed boys who were looking a bit embarrassed at the touching reunion. "And you two must be Fred and George. Tera's told me lots about the two of you. Thank you for watching out for my little girl." Persephone said with a kind smile.

"It was nothing really.." mumbled the twins, blushes spreading across their cheeks and making their freckles stand out.

"Alright come along, need to get to a deserted place so I can make the portkey and we can head home." Persephone said , grabbing her daughter's trunk and dragging it along in its cart. Once they made it to a deserted and dark alley she pulled out a battered old key chain, dropping it on the ground she pointed at it with her wand and muttered _"Portus!"_ The key chain glowed bright blue for a moment then went back to normal. "Okay then, everyone get a firm grip on your things, then place a finger on the portkey. Hurry now."

Everyone tightened their grip on their possessions then placed their forefinger on the key chain. They felt a great pulling sensation behind their navels and then they were spinning. After a minute or so they all landed in a garden, everyone except Tera's mother falling on impact.

"Well that was fun. Tera I trust you can show our guests to their rooms?" said her mother before apparating off to work.

"Alright follow me boys!" Tera said with a smile, leading them through the lush garden that Professor Sprout would love and into the back of a very nice three story house.

"You live here?" they both asked in wonder, staring around them at all of the neat things and pictures that were all over.

"Uh-huh, this house has been my family's for generations." she said with a small shrug leading them past a cozy little living room and up a flight of stairs, stopping in front of a door. "This is my room, your rooms are right at the end of this hall on the right and on the left. You can pick which one you want." Tera said with a small smile, opening her own door and putting her things inside, letting lady out of her carrier and opening the window after letting Thor out too so he could go to his favorite tree.

"Nice room..." mumbled the twins as they looked at her full sized bed and its lily colored canopy. Also taking in the wall covered in pictures of her family and the pictures of all her friends she had just started putting up.

"Yeah well its just a room. Nothing too fancy about it." she said with a shrug, closing the door and then leading them down the hall to their rooms. "Fred you can have the room on the left, George you take the one on the right." she opened both of the doors and the boy's jaws dropped, the rooms were both wonderful. The walls painted a nice shade of blue, the beds were queen sized, and the twins felt like the had died and gone to heaven.

"These... these are your guest rooms?" they asked in shock.

"Yeah... what is there a problem?" she asked with a tiny bit of concern.

"No no no! This is great! We never have this much room at home!" George said with a laugh, Fred nodding in agreement. "We'll hardly know what to do with all the spare space."

Tera sighed and smiled, nodding in understanding. "No worries, I'm just glad you like them. Put your things away and maybe I'll teach you how to cook the Muggle way.." she said with a laugh, heading down stairs.

The twins just smiled and put their things in their rooms, following her downstairs and into the kitchen. "How hard can it be?" said Fred with a laugh.

Half an hour later Tera was standing in the middle of the kitchen, covered in flour and raw cookie dough, a plate of charcoal cookies in front of her and a pair of red-heads standing next to her looking sheepish.

"Okay so it was quite a bit harder then we thought..." mumbled Fred while wiping a bit of dough off his cheek.

"A lot harder then we thought..." agreed George.

Tera sighed and looked up, a tiny amused grin on her face. "I don't know how you boys did it... but there's cookie dough on the ceiling..." she said with a small laugh, getting a wet towel and cleaning their faces up a bit. "Remind me never to let the two of you cook, ever again." she said while shaking her head, a small grin on her face. "Go get changed, I'll clean this up."

The twins headed out of the kitchen and stopped in the hallway, staring at a calender there.

"Look, Tera's birthday is in a week." said Fred, pointing at the day on the calender.

"Yeah, and we'll be here for it." George replied with a smile, following his twin upstairs. "Looks like we get to have some fun with our little Hufflepuff." he said with a laugh.

A week rolled by pretty quickly and the boys greatly enjoyed their stay. Tera's mother had logged the boys into Tera's watch so now she would know if they were home, traveling, in danger or anything like that.

The boys both snuck into Tera's room on the morning of her twelfth birthday and screamed in her ears "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERA!" as loud as the could.

Tera screamed and fell off her bed, her legs all tangled up in the blankets. "You guys are gits, you know that?" she grumbled from the floor.

The boys just smiled at her and helped her up off the floor. "Get dressed love, its the beginning of your birthday, you wouldn't want to miss out on all the fun now would you?" asked the twins with a laugh.

"What fun?" she asked with a yawn, shooing them out the door but keeping it cracked just a bit to talk to them while she dressed.

"We, with the help of your mom, invited a few people over to celebrate your birthday!" said the twins with a laugh.

Tera finally stepped out of her room, dressed in a red ruffed skirt and a nice and sort of lacy white top with spaghetti straps, her hair flowing in waves down her back. "Who all did you invite?" she asked out of curiosity while putting in a pair of star earrings.

The twins stared for a second then shook their heads.

"We invited our mum and dad, Ron. Percy, our younger sister Ginny, Hermione, Harry (but we got no reply) and since he's home for a bit our older brother Bill." said Fred who held up a list of all the people who were going to be here for sure.

"We even got your gran in on it, she's baked up a huge cake and everything. Its gonna be a great party!" said George with a great big smile.

After everyone had arrived and Tera had thanked people profusely for the presents, the whole Weasley family in attendance agreed that this girl was a fantastic little thing. She was fun and she could keep up with their two trouble makers. When no one was looking Bill pulled his two brother's aside and away from the others.

"Okay you two listen to me on this alright. That girl is a phenomenal little thing. One of you had better snatch her up before she's gone for good in the next few years. She's gonna be something when she's older believe you me. Heck even mum is fond of her and you know she doesn't warm up to girls very quick. She hated the last girl I was friends with, wouldn't even look at the one I dated. But this one, whichever of you gets her should consider yourself lucky. But please, I'm asking this not just as your brother but as someone who's grown fond of that little Hufflepuff over these last few hours. Don't hurt her alright?" said Bill, looking from one of his younger brothers to the other.

Fred and George both just looked at him with their jaws dropped. gWhat, what you mean snatch her up? What makes you think that?h they asked with wide eyes.

"Fred, George, seriously, I'm not blind. I see the way all of you are around each other. You both are very fond of her and she's quite fond of you too. She's going to grow up and be quite the little looker I'll tell you that. You wouldn't want to let some other bloke come in and steal her away would you? She's a catch and I get the feeling that one of you two is going to end up pulling her in and keeping her." said Bill with a laugh, he then winked in a secretive way. "That and I can tell she likes at least one of you as more then just a friend." he said with a shrug, turning to walk back into the party. "Just think about it."

The twins both just stared after their oldest brother, not knowing what to say. They looked at each other then into the party where Tera was smiling brightly and thanking everyone for coming, a faint pinkness on her cheeks from all the laughing and smiling she had been doing.

Could she really like one of them? Did one of them really feel that way about her?

George looked over at Fred who was still watching Tera, thinking about how he only thought of her like a sister, but he couldn't quite figure out if Fred saw her that way too, though if he had to guess, he'd say that Fred had never seen her that way and never would. No if he had to guess, he'd bet that Fred, even if he doesn't know it, looks at Tera as far more then just their little Hufflepuff friend.

Fred kept replaying his older brother's words. 'You wouldn't want some other bloke to come in and steal her would you?', 'I can tell she likes at least one of you as more then just a friend.' Did she really? And if so which one? These thoughts nagged Fred for the rest of the day, even Tera who had been entertaining guests had noticed something was up.

"Are you okay Freddie?" she asked in a small and concerned voice, her green eyes clouded with worry as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah I'm fine." he said, shaking himself and saying to himself this all really didn't matter right now, it was Tera's day and he should not be making her fret over him. "Happy Birthday Tera. I hope you've enjoyed your party." he said with a smile.

"Yes I have, thank you very much Freddie. You and George have made this my best birthday ever." she replied with a sweet and very happy smile, resting her head on his shoulder and yawning. A few minutes later she had fallen asleep without anyone noticing. People had slowly but surely started leaving and everyone went home within an hour. Tera's mother and grandmother cleaned up with a wave of their wands.

Fred started to move but realized that Tera was asleep, he smiled and turned slightly, picking her up and carrying her small sleeping form upstairs. He pushed her door open with his foot and then laid her down on her bed. Pulling off her shoes, placing them at the foot of her bed and taking off her earrings, placing them on her dresser. He then tucked her in and kissed her forehead lightly. "Goodnight love, and hope you had an amazing birthday." he then left and him and George were both gone by morning, heading home to the burrow.


End file.
